


When Shit Hits the Fan

by Suga_is_bae



Category: SEVENTEEN (Band)
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fluff and Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Insomnia, Jihoon is grumpy, M/M, McDonald's, Mental Health Issues, Mental Instability, Minghao is an actual angel, Minor Injuries, Panic Attacks, Prescription Drug Use, Triggers, china line moved to korea for different reasons, not graphic dw, please don't read if you'll get triggered, poor Junhui, they all live in korea bc i dont know enough about china to write this in that setting, this is kinda cute too tho cause of minghao so
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-12-11
Updated: 2017-11-12
Packaged: 2018-09-03 00:36:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 6,379
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8689732
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Suga_is_bae/pseuds/Suga_is_bae
Summary: Junhui lost everything that kept him stable for years. Minghao is too amiable to know when to quit.More tags to be added.





	1. Grounding

**Author's Note:**

> IN THE PROCESS OF EDITING; PLEASE READ CHAPTER 5 BEFORE READING.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Traffic, am I right?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter has been edited.

  
"God d-dammit!" Junhui slammed his hand on the steering wheel, he could  
almost _feel_ the blood vessels bursting from pressure.

   Sobs wracked his body, he fought for breath through tears, whimpers of pain and frustration threatening to push their way up his throat. It was only Tuesday, yet he was already having his fourth panic attack this week, this shit was getting old.

  
   Up until a month ago, things had been relatively alright, he had a good job, amazing friends, a loving boyfriend, and he finally had a somewhat stable mental outlook. Years of struggling and different pill combinations had finally led him to what had worked best; the two capsules he takes daily, combined with a stable life. Once his life went to shit though, the pills had stopped working as well.

  
   Jun began to listen to the mantra that repeated itself in his head every time this happened.  
  
_Look around. Find five objects you can see._  
  
   Five things. Okay, that evergreen tree in the distance, that's one. The antenna on the parked car in front of him, two. The small crack on his windshield, it reminded Junhui of the night when- oh god, stop, focus.. That was three. The lady walking her dog on the sidewalk, four. The stop sign about 40 meters away, five. Good.

  
_Find four items you can touch._  
  
   Well, he could and was touching the steering wheel, there's one. The gearshift, the perfect distance to reach with an outstretched arm, two. He shifted and felt the rough material of the seat covers catch against his pants, three. The door handle, that's four.  
  
_Three sounds you can hear._  
  
   The small static humming coming from his radio, one. His own ragged breathing, two. The screams and horns from traffic that all seemed to be directed at him... Hold on, were they directed at him?

  
   Jun quickly realised that, in his haste to pull over for the oncoming anxiety attack, he hadn't been too careful, and was now blocking   half a lane. Jun pulled away from the sidewalk, turning the nearest corner to get away from the sounds as soon as possible, now hyper aware of the sounds  
around him. Junhui let out a breath, managing to parallel park -properly this time- and continued, picking up where he left off.  
  
_Find two things you can smell._ __  
  
   He could smell the faint tint of exhaust left in the air from idling on the street for so long, one. And the scent of burgers and fries that never seemed to leave his uniform, two.  
  
_Find something you can taste._ __  
  
   That was easy, he could taste the salt from the tears that had run down his face. His sobs had turned into small whimpers now, tears no longer coming out. _You probably used up all your tears, you fucking cry baby._ Sighing, he wiped the remaining wetness from his cheeks.  
  
   Three meager taps reverberated from the passenger side window. Junhui nearly jumped out of his skin, not expecting the sound. Peering over to see what had caused the sound, the image of a man met his vision. He was crouched down to meet the height of the car, and smiling brightly. Junhui hesitated, and rolled down the window.  
  
"Hi! I was behind you on the street,” noticing the widening of Junhui’s eyes, he quickly tacked on more to his explanation “Don't worry,  I wasn't one of the ones honking, but it seemed like something was going wrong. I wasn't really sure what I could do at the time, but I wanted to make sure you were alright."  
  
   Astonished by the man's considerate action, Junhui only managed to stutter out "I'm fi-fine," as a response.  
  
   You look like you've been crying, are you sure? Wait, do you work at McDonalds? That's so cool!" Junhui had yet to find anyone who thought his job was 'cool', but for some reason this stranger seemed genuinely interested.  
  
"Uh, yeah I do." The former answered intelligently. He blamed it on the fact that he was still coming down from the anxiety adrenalin. It surely had nothing to do with how attractive the stranger was..  
  
"That's so awesome! I'm Minghao by the way.” The man hesitated a moment before speaking again. “Are you sure you're okay? You look a little pale..." _And I can see tear stains on your cheeks_. Minghao thought but didn't dare say, afraid to upset the man before him.  
  
   Junhui took a minute to weigh his next words. On one hand, this stranger - Minghao - had already been kind enough. most people would have just honked, this guy followed him a block to see if he was alright, and Junhui thought it would be rude to burden him more. But on the other hand, Minghao seemed like he genuinely cared about Junhui. _No one cares, no one ever will._ ** _Shut up for second, will you?_** And maybe for once he could actually answer the question at hand with a 'no'.  
  
   In the end, Junhui’s first thought, and the voice in his head, won out.  
  
"I'm- I'll be fine."  
  
"Oh, ok. Would you at least tell me your name?" Minghao asked, a slightly defeated yet somehow still hopeful look on his face. Before Junhui could even think of answering, a car honk sounded from behind the car. The two men looked back to see that now, in a turn of events, it was Minghao's car that was half blocking the lane, piling up about three cars stuck behind his.  Alarmed, Minghao mumbled a few curses under his breath (Junhui tried not to flinch at the words, ordering his brain to realise that the words were not directed at him).  
  
"Shit, I’m sorry- I gotta go. Next time I see you, you're telling me your name, okay?  
  
   The other man nodded, not quite believing (but hoping, oh god was he ever hoping) that they would meet again, but agreeing as to not distress the other man anymore than necessary. It seemed to work as Minghao appeared to relax just a little, then rushing towards his car to move it. Junhui watched him pull out, then as he drove past rather slowly, realized that he appeared to be looking for something frustratedly. A moment passed and Minghao had apparently given up on whatever he was looking for, and drove away. It took Junhui all of seven seconds to realise that he had been looking for another spot to park.  
  
   Junhui wiped at his tears and, for once, let himself smile. It was barely twitch of his lips, but it was real. He felt slightly more okay then he has in a few days thanks to the other man's kindness (he grimaced thinking back to the few times he had stumbled in the conversation, then forced his mind to silence the self destructive thoughts that always accompanied a mistake, no matter how simple it had been) and convinced himself he now had enough energy to drive home and make dinner.  
  
   



	2. Work Never Ends

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A day in the life of Minghao

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter has been edited.

_Fuck, I really hope he's there when I get back._

Minghao accelerated through the side streets to get back to the unnamed man as quickly as possible. Some part of his mind told him he was irrational for thinking the man would wait for him, but he chose to ignore the irksome voice in favour of driving even faster.

"Well, shit." Minghao let out a defeated sigh as he pulled down to where the stranger had been previously parked.

 _I mean really, what else was I expecting?_ He thought as he stared at the now empty section of street. Disgruntled, he started the long commute back home.  
  
~  
  
As he unlocked the door to his, admittedly small, apartment, the blaring tone of EXO's Overdose started to ring out. Startled, he scrambled to pull his phone out his pocket. Heaving a ridiculous sigh after seeing the caller ID.  
  
"Hello?" Annoyance dripping from his tone.  
  
_"Is that anyway to greet the person who just booked you a gig that will make you a small fortune?"_ The voice on the other end obviously not fazed by the tone of words.  
  
"Oh come on Hyung, you and me both know it's Jeonghan-ssi who books the clients, not you. Don't try to steal his thunder." Minghao retorted using the older's online alias.  
  
_"Well I'm the one who gave Jeonghan Hyung a job.."_ Hoshi replied lamely. Minghao allowed himself to let out a quiet chuckle. He placed the phone on his shoulder as he removed his jacket and shoes, proceeding to toss his keys into the bowl on the counter. Just as he got to the couch he remembered what Soonyoung had said when he answered the phone, he became interested, but still didn’t feel like talking.  
  
"So what were you saying about a small fortune?" Minghao wanted to try to look (read: stalk Facebook) for the man from earlier, then promptly watch a movie and ignore the world. Only the promise of money kept him interested.  
  
_"Of course you listen when there's cash involved.”_ The man on the phone laughed to himself. _“Look, a new chain restaurant just opened up across town, they want us to create a nice but simple profile for their specific location to be put on the main company site. They gave us a week, but if we get it done in less than two days they'll pay us double. but if we're to get it done in that short of time we need to start as soon as possible. So..."_  
  
"You need me to go and take pictures today, don't you?"  
  
_"Yes? I'm sorry but this is a lot of money on the line. As in, if we get the double it'll be almost six million won."_  
  
"And what exactly would be my cut of this?"  
  
Soonyoung sighed, mumbling something unintelligible under his breath, Minghao guessed it was something along the lines of 'what a brat', a common phrase in the man’s vocabulary. _"You'll get an extra three hundred thousand on top of the cut you were already getting."_  
  
"Now that's what I like to here."  
  
_"Goddammit can you just go there tonight? We really need to get started on this."_  
  
"Yeah alright, just text me the adress and I'll leave now." After saying a quick goodbye the two hung up. Leaving Minghao to take one final longing glance at his laptop, then go grab his camera.  
  
~  
  
As he pulled up to the address Soonyoung had texted, he was almost blown away by the sheer irony of his day. There he was, almost three hours after he had met the unnamed man, sitting in the parking lot of the (apparently) newest McDonald's in the city. Minghao took one final deep breath before stepping out of his car and heading for the front door.  
  
The inside of the building had a very modern feel, sleek wooden pillars scattered around the room with a mahogany stain. Faux marble counters and table tops and, to top it all off, an in-wall fireplace at the back of the restaurant. It would have given the place quite a home-like feel to it, had it not been for the uncovered air ducts, reminding the visitor that this is very much still a restaurant. Well, as much of a ‘restaurant’ as McDonalds can be. Still, it had Minghao wondering in awe how much it would have taken to build this, now realising why this specific restaurant got its own section on the main website, it really was stunning for fast food.  
  
After coming to from his trance, Minghao proceeded to make his way to the front counter and alert the manager that he had arrived. Though before he even made it there a small man (since when do kids work in fast food? How old is this guy?) approached him with an extremely irritated look on his face.  
  
"I'm guessing that you're the photographer?" The person asked.  
  
"Uh, yeah, yeah I am. My name's Minghao."  
  
"Good, it was about time you got here. We're closing in like twenty minutes, you know that? You better be fucking done by closing." He mumbled the last part under his breath, though Minghao was still very much able to hear him. It was then he realized he still didn't even know the guy's name.  
  
"I, uh, should be finished by then. I never caught your name?" He said it as more of a question, trying not to antagonize the man any further.  
  
"Jihoon." And with that he walked away. Leaving a very confused Minghao to (he guessed) start with the pictures.

He took a look around the restaurant once again, just now noticing the fact that it was indeed nearly empty, save for a couple near the back. It was already around 7:30, and outside the world was almost black. Thankfully, this worked to Minghao's advantage as this meant he would more than likely capture a reflection rather than outside images if he pointed his camera towards the windows. He snapped a few photos, then started to look around for something that captured his eye. Suddenly there was a tapping on his shoulder, Minghao jumping slightly at the contact. He turned to look at a sheepish boy, looking to be in his late teens, but he had one of those faces where he could have also easily been older than Minghao.  
  
"Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you. I just wanted to apologize about Jihoon, I swear he's nice for the most part, he just gets irritated easily sometimes. Head management only called about fifteen minutes ago to tell us you were coming and, considering it's almost closing..." The younger trailed off.  
  
"I understand-" Minghao looked to the left of the boy's chest for a name tag. He found it slightly askew and nearly pinned to his side, rather than on his front pocket."-Seokmin-ssi. I'd be pissed if I was him as well." Seokmin looked relieved once he said that.  
  
"Okay, great. So if you wanted some, like, help, usually the company likes a few window shots, like you've been doing, then something that screams ‘overly cozy’, and a shot of the front counter with a few 'happy' employees."  
  
Minghao was a little surprised that the boy was trying to help, but he was grateful. With a nod, he walked toward the fireplace and complied to Seokmin's advice. He angled his camera to capture the warm flames and a few tables, then walked back towards the counter.  
  
As he had been taking pictures, the younger had apparently convinced the rest of the staff to appear happy for the next two and a half minutes while their picture was being taken. Minghao smiled, relieved that this should be done quicker than he could have possibly hoped.  
  
After he had finished capturing a few good images, he sent a thumbs up and a thank you to the staff, all of them visibly slumping as they realized they didn't have to keep face anymore. A vibrating in his pocket brought him out of his content headspace. Looking at his phone he had, sadly, received a text from the one and only Soonyoung.  
  
**Hosh:** _Hey can you tell the manager that I forgot to give you the paperwork, so someone will be back tomorrow to get it signed?_  
  
Goddammit. He did not want to face that manager again, although considering the further action wouldn't be till tomorrow, he figured the man wouldn't scream. He quickly shot back a 'sure' and made his way to the counter.  
  
"Well hello again." The boy smiled at him  
  
"Hello to you as well, all done with the pictures?"  
  
"Yeah I am, thank you for the help by the way." Seokmin simply waved the words off. "I just need to talk to the manager once again."  
  
The boy looked worried for a moment before agreeing and leaving to fetch the man in question. He returned shortly, Jihoon following behind and still looking rather irritated.  
  
"So you're done right?" Was the first thing out of the man's mouth as he approached Minghao. It took Minghao aback slightly, but he managed to make a recovery before his surprise became apparent on his face.  
  
"Yeah, I am. But my boss just texted me saying that he forgot to give me some paperwork for you to sign, so someone will be back tomorrow. What time would work best for you?" Jihoon seemed to visibly relax as he realized he wouldn't have to stay any later.  
  
"Anytime between morning and lunch rush would be best, it'll be a bit slower at that time."  
  
"Alright well you should expect someone with the papers around mid morning tomorrow then." Jihoon, happy with his words, nodded and returned to the back of the restaurant, presumably to his office.  
  
On his way out Minghao thanked Seokmin again and bowed slightly to him. Finally he was free to go home and- shit. After all of that he really didn't feel like spending his night searching his computer for the unnamed man with literally no information to build on. Especially since it would most likely be him going to get the paperwork signed tomorrow in the early morning, well, early for Minghao. He decided to postpone his internet stalking to the next day in favour of eating some sort of leftovers and at least trying to sleep.  
  
~  
  
The second he unlocked his apartment door, he headed for his bathroom medicine cabinet. Taking out the bottle melatonin (10mgs per pill), he quickly tossed back one, and a half just to be sure, knowing it would take at least an hour for them to kick in, if at all. Then made his way where he filled a pot with water, and placed it on the stovetop. He turned the element on high before walking back towards his bathroom. As the water boiled, he decided to take a quick shower. Revelling in the warmth as the water poured over his tense muscles. It had been a long, and slightly stressful day, and he was happy to finally have a moment of peace.  
  
He stepped out of the shower and dried himself off. Tossing on a pair of comfy sweat pants and an oversized t-shirt. He made his way back into his kitchen to find the water at boiling temperature, so he quickly opened the packet of ramen and tossed the noodles in, along with the seasoning.  
  
Five minutes later he was sitting with his laptop, and a bowl of steaming hot ramen in front of him. He opened Facebook and began to comb through the hundreds of pages for specifically Korean McDonald's. It had taken till two in the morning for his pills to kick in. And if Minghao had stayed up until then, (slightly desperately) going through page after page of different social medias trying to search for the boy, well, no one had to know.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> IM SO SORRY. Christmas was so busy and I was part of two different secret santas and had so much homework, but that's still no excuse. I promise the updates will be more frequent then this. Trust me, I have the entire plot thought out and I'm so excited to write this. Expect more updates soon!


	3. Clichés and Fate

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Work.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter has been edited.

" _Someone Call The Doctor. Nal butjapgo malhaejwo Sarangeun byeong, jungdok Overdose Sigani jinalsurok tongjeneun himdeureojyeo_ -"

"What the hell do you want?" Minghao grumbled blearily into his phone, bitter from being woken up at such an early hour. Although upon stealing a glance at his wall clock he found it was already quarter past ten, so maybe not so early.

"Well good morning to you too sunshine." Soonyoung laughed airily as he brushed off Minghao's brashness, long used to his cranky grumblings when woken up. "I'm on my way over to drop off the papers the manager needs to sign, so be up when I get there. You have to be at the restaurant within the next hour."

Oh right, the papers, Minghao remembered, suddenly wide awake as he realized he would need to hurry to the restaurant to make it on time.

"Alright, I will be. Don't worry."

"Good. Oh, and I need you to send me the pictures you took last night, I have to send them off to Jisoo-Hyung as soon as possible."

"They'll be in your inbox by the time you get home." Minghao couldn't believe he never sent them in, he was being so forgetful these past few days.

"Thanks Ming-ah, see you soon."

The former said his goodbyes and hung up the phone. He sat up on his couch, which he had apparently fallen asleep on last night, and turned towards his - still open, but now dead - laptop. _I can charge it while I take a shower and upload the pictures once it's running again._ Minghao thought while sighing to himself.

He made his way towards his bathroom, grabbing a towel and a fresh pair of clothes along the way. Belatedly, he realized that he had gotten over seven hours of sleep, more than he had in the last two days combined. Astonished, he stared at himself in the mirror, looking at the circles under his eyes and noticing the dramatic decrease of dark pigment in them.

He felt happier, lighter, than he had in a long while. Well rested and ready for what was coming to face him, he stepped in the shower to start the day.  
~

  
"How was your night?" Seokmin asked with sympathy in his gaze, noticing the lack of sleep pooled beneath the older's eyes. This was the first moment the two had been able to talk all morning, since start time differences and rushes kept the tills hectic.

Junhui sighed. "It was alright, I guess." To punctuate how untruthful his words truly were, he yawned for a good five seconds.

Truthfully it had been his worst night in over a week. Three panic attacks, only a few hours of sleep, and at one point genuinely becoming hysterical for nearly thirty minutes. Not to mention the thoughts he had about the man - Minghao - from yesterday. The overwhelmingly kind demeanour and words had left Junhui feeling guilty, like he had been rude or fumbled his words. The conversation had been replayed in his head a countless amount of times.

  
"I’m sorry, Hyung ." Seokmin mumbled with worry written across his face. Junhui shook his head.

“Don’t be, it’s not like you caused it.” He didn’t want anyone, especially not the well-intentioned Seokmin, to feel even a mere ounce of ill-placed remorse that Junhui experienced so frequently.

The conversation died off as a group of loud teenagers walked through the door, the younger leaving to go his perch at the cashier and Junhui staying rooted to the grill he was currently making hash browns in.

He could tell the breakfast rush was dying down, as he had only needed to make two batches in the last hour. He reached into his pocket to grab his phone. 10:48, only six hour and twelve minutes to go.

After the teens had gotten their takeout, the restaurant died down again. The only sounds being quiet chatter from the eating customers and the sizzle of cooking appliances as they started to prepare for lunch.

About ten minutes had past when the bell above the front door rung again, alerting the cashiers of a new customers. Minghao didn't bother to look up, too busy with the deep fryer as he had switched to making fries in prep.

"Hey! I didn't expect it to be you to come back." Junhui heard Seokmin say, presumably to a friend considering the informal language used.

The faceless person chuckled. "Who else could my boss lure into getting up at 9:30 in the morning for paperwork? Anyways I wa-"

Junhui stopped listening when the voice registered in his mind. Oh fuck oh fuck oh fuck. It can't be him. There's no possible way how could it be him. It can't be. Junhui tried to ration with himself that logically it couldn't be him, and then he made the mistake of trying to steal a glance towards the front.

It was. It was him. Minghao, the man from yesterday. The man who actually cared enough to check on him. The man who had occupied most of Junhui's thoughts last night. He was there, standing approximately seven feet away.

Jun's body apparently did not know how to react, as seconds after he saw the other, his balance slipped. His right hand flying toward the hot oil. Thankfully, he managed to move it before the worst could happen, but didn't move it fast enough to escape all damage, hand landing on the piece of metal separating the frying stations. A small shout falling from his lips as he recoils his hand a second too late, a burn already formed on the side of his hand. He holds his hand to his chest, praying they hadn't heard him at the front counter.

"Oh my gosh! Jun are you ok?"

His prayers had gone ignored. He turned towards the nineteen year old to find him worriedly looking back to see if he's alright.

"I'm fine." Junhui quickly answered as he turned away, as not to be seen by Minghao. It wasn't that he didn't want to see him again - because, _oh god_ he did- but he didn't want him to see him like this; wearing an idiotic uniform, smelling like potatoes, and uncharacteristically clumsy.

"No you're not." Seokmin replied as he got closer and started to see the extent of the injury. "Here, move into the light. It's so dark back here I can't see how bad it is." He was then being dragged closer to the front counter, he forced himself to keep his eyes down.

"Really I'm fine, I just need to run it under cold water." By this point it was really starting to sting, and all he wanted to do was get away from the man standing in front of the counter.

"Oh right that might be a good idea." Seokmin turned to Minghao. "Sorry I'll be back in a second." Jun pulled them away before the other could give his reply.

~

He was here.

Holy shit he was here.

Out of all the places Minghao could have found him, pure luck let it be here. He couldn't even speak, so surprised he was rooted in his spot, staring at the man who had almost completely occupied his thoughts for almost twenty four hours.

He didn't even register what Seokmin had said until the two were walking away from him. That brought him out of his frozen stance.

"Wait!" The word was out of his mouth before Minghao could even process thinking it. He couldn't let him walk away from him.

The two looked very confused. Well, Seokmin did. The other man - who he think he had heard referred to as Jun - was still refusing to meet his gaze.

"I, uh, I know first aid, if you have a medical kit I take care of that burn within a minute." _Nice going idiot, everyone knows how to take care of a minor burn._

But apparently fate was on his side, Seokmin looked rather relieved at his words, seemingly grateful. Maybe he didn't actually know what to do.

"That would be great if you could! I'll go get the first aid kit. Minghao there's a table top you can flip up right there to get in." He pointed to a piece of fake marble that was attached to hinges, then turned his attention to the other man. "Junhui," He took a pause, unsure of any directions to give. "Do whatever Minghao says." And briskly walked away.

Unknowing of what else to do, Minghao made his way through the pull-up gate and towards the injured man. He tried to put on his least intimidating, most mild-mannered smile.

"Junhui, so that's your name, huh?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! I really wanted to get something up so it's a little short. I say this every time but I have really big plans for this story and I'm really excited about it. Updates might be a little show because of school but I'll try to keep them as regular as possible.


	4. Papers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Junhui needs to get those papers signed.
> 
>  
> 
> (Also [this](http://musiciscoolio.tumblr.com/post/156564551056/new-edit-insomniac-minghao-from-my-story-when) is what Minghao looks like in this story for the most part, it's also the link to my Tumblr so send me prompts if you want)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a complete mess of POV lol. It's okay though, it's all limited omniscient so it kinda (maybe?) works. I'm sorry this is ridiculously late.. happy lunar new year? (A week late)

"Junhui, so that's your name, huh?"

"I-I'm um, yes. That's my, that's my name. Or Jun, J-Jun's okay too." Junhui narrowly managed to babble out, mentally cursing himself because _stupid Junhui getting injured stupid Junhui stuttering **Stop**. Fuck it's getting worse again._

"Cute." The man laughed, seemingly amused by the dreadful stuttering on the other man's part. "I'm pretty sure I already told you yesterday, but I'm Minghao, it's nice to meet you," Minghao seemed to considered his words for a minute then adding, "Again."

He held an outstretched hand to Junhui, waiting for him to shake it until realization hit him and he recoiled his hand instantly. _It's not because he finds you disgusting it isn't it isn't yes it is you can see if you look hard enough no one is ever not disgusted by you **Stop**. Fuck._

"God I'm so sorry I wasn't even thinking, here-" he broke off as he leaned in and actually hugged Jun. Seriously. Full fledged embrace and everything.

Jun felt like he was imploding.

After a few seconds of no reciprocation, Minghao awkwardly pulled back, scratching the back of his neck and refusing to meet Jun's eyes.

"Sorry, I uh, I probably shouldn't have done that. Blame it on-" Minghao was about to say lack of sleep when he remembered he was fine this time, it wasn't lack of sleep. He just genuinely wanted to hug him and didn't think ahead. No excuse now. "Blame it on me having no concept of boundaries, even if I just met you."

He ushered Jun to a nearby sink and started to run the cold water, temporarily alleviating some of the burn's pain.

_Nice job Jun, you made him feel like you do, no one deserves this but you. Fix it because he doesn't deserve this. Fix it you idiot._

"It's fine. I just, I just wasn't expecting it is all. Sorry."

Minghao's face contorted into one of confusion.

"You don't have to- why are you apologizing?"

The younger started fidgeting under the gaze. "I don't know, I'm sor-." He cut himself off before he could finish. Looking at the other man in panic.

Minghao's expression became one of bewilderment. In a light tone, as not to scare him anymore, he replied to the man; "It's fine, I just meant you've done nothing wrong."

"O-okay."

"Alright! I found the medical kit. It doesn't have that much stuff in it but it should be enough for now." Seokmin all but exclaimed upon returning to the pair.

Minghao took the small case from the man, a short 'thank you' following as a reply. He put the case down on the small counter next to the sink and undid the zipper. Taking a quick scan of the contents he saw he had almost everything he needed, and started to remove some of the objects. Before turning off the tap he quickly washed his hands as there were no gloves in the kit.

Grasping a towel off the rack about the tap, he turned to the injured man. Holding his hand out and looking towards Jun, silently asking permission to touch him. His answer came in the form of Jun giving him his hand, water dripping from just taking it from under the tap.

Gingerly, he took his wrist and dried off the hand, being as careful as possible on and around the burn. Nevertheless, Jun flinched at the touch of the plush fabric.

Apologizing quickly, he gathered the Polysporin® before smoothing the gel over the entire area of the burn. Satisfied that it was covered, he wiped his hand on the towel and reached for the gauze and medical tape. Inspecting the area that needed to be covered, Minghao gauged an amount of gauze slightly bigger than the wound, and cut it to size.

He kept working at the wound until it was completely treated. Meanwhile, Junhui was going haywire. _Minghao was touching him._ _Minghao was touching him and treating him as if he were something precious, something that actually deserved to be cared for. He was truly being compassionate, wasn't just doing it to get something out of him_. A voice in Jun's mind repetitively remarked that he must be using him, why else would he do this? Jun chose to ignore that voice in favour of savouring Minghao's gentle, yet precise touch currently setting his skin aflame. Only this burn did not bring pain, at least, not to his extremities.

So consumed in the contact, he barely registered the words leaving Minghao's mouth. Scratch that, he didn't even hear them.

"What?" Jun asked intelligently. The other man let out a quiet chuckle, gazing somewhat fondly at him.

"I said; I'm done, you can take your hand back now." His smile forming into a small smirk.

"Oh, t-thank you."

"No problem, let me know if you get hurt again and I'll take care of you." He said it in a tone of light joking, but there was something else, something sincere behind his words. Almost like he wasn't just talking about physical injuries. _He doesn't care about you, he doesn't even know you. And even if he did, he wouldn't like you. **Stop**._

Minghao smiled, realizing the double meaning was not lost on the frightened looking boy. There was something off about how he flinched back, how he hadn't really been fine in the car yesterday. Minghao wanted to know why.

"What took you so long to get here? And what are you doing behind the counter, are you trying to get me a lawsuit?" Came the irritated, and rather unmistakable, voice of the smaller man coming towards the pair. Jun took a step back, the moment the pair had shared was now broken.

"H-he's been here for a while, but I was clumsy and burned my hand, he knew how to fix it. I'm sorry, it's my fault he's late." Jun said, head hung low, hands fidgeting in front of him, supposedly acting as a make shift shield.

Jihoon sighed, obviously realizing Jun couldn't have stopped the injury from happening and it wasn't his fault. It made Minghao wonder how often it happens, Jun taking the blame when it isn't his fault, or even when there was no blame to take.

"It's fine Junhui, it's no one's fault. How is your hand?"

"It's okay now."

"I'm glad to hear it," He turned his attention to Minghao. "Thank you for helping him, do you have those papers for me?" The taller of the pair nodded, reaching into his bag to retrieve them. The two went through the contract together, one pointing out the necessary dotted lines, the other signing on them. After a few minutes, Jihoon said his partings, shook Minghao's hand, and walked back toward his office.

The three turned back to each other, unsure of what to say.

"As much as you're pretty great company, lunch rush will be starting soon and Jun and I need to get back to work." Seokmin spoke up suddenly. Seeming almost to dislike his own words, quickly gazing towards Jun in guilt. "Sorry." He added after a moment.

Minghao understood of course, but couldn't help feeling a little downcast at not being able to see the captivating boy in front of him longer.

"Yeah uh, you're probably right."

"Thank you for helping me, Minghao." Junhui spoke up in a small voice, not able to meet the other man's eyes as he kept his gaze on the ground. Sepkmin mumbled out something about going to start toasting the buns - Minghao hoped he was talking about the burgers - and suddenly the two were alone.

"Jun I was wondering if I could maybe, uh, y'know, get your-"

"Excuse me, can I get some service here?" An extremely annoyed sounding customer chose that moment to bring his existence to attention.

"Of course! I'm sorry I'll be with you in just a second." Jun said nervously, obviously a little shaken by the loud patron. He turned back to Minghao, "I'm sorry, finish that thought another time. I have to go and so do you. I'm sorry." Jun managed to rush out before fast-walking towards the man.

"Seriously Minghao, Jihoon's gonna turn you into a burger if you don't get out from behind the counter." Sepkmin said, appearing out of no where, and holding a box of what seemed like hamburger buns.

"Alright, I'm going." The elder spoke back, dazed after the hasty exit made by the man currently helping the idiot ordering food (which Minghao would spit in if he worked there).

He made his way towards the exit, ready to leave. He didn't exactly want to, but more people were arriving and he would be more of a hindrance than anything else. Just the doors were being pushed open, a voice -slightly shaking- called out to him. Literally.

"Minghao!"

Minghao turned to where a brown haired man was running towards him.

"You uh, you forgot these." Jun said, trying to catch his breathe as he got closer. In his hand he was holding the papers that Jihoon had signed.

"Shit, I almost forgot them? Thank you Junhui..?" He paused for a moment, indicating the other man to say his family name. It took a moment for this information to come to realization.

"Wen! It's uh, my family name is Wen."

"Well then, Wen Junhui, thank you for returning these too me. I'll see you around."

_  
See me around? What the heck does that mean?_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Junhui is a precious little snowball protect him.
> 
> Tumblr (to bug me to get on writing or to send in prompts): musiciscoolio


	5. NOT A CHAPTER

Sorry to disappoint anyone waiting on an update, this is not a chapter. This is however, an update on what’s happening with this book. Don’t worry, I’m going to continue it. I may have overworked myself and not had time for it, but I’m back and I want to keep writing.

However, upon re-reading the first chapter, it appears I have gotten at least slightly better in my writing in that year, as I was horrified with what I saw. So I will be editing this story. For those of you who have already read it, I won’t be changing the plot so you don’t have to re-read it, but you can if you want to. After I finish editing it I’ll continue writing it bc I actually had a shit ton of ideas for this book and I need to write them out. I will put a note in each chapter after I have finished editing it so look for that. This will be deleted after I finish editing. 

I’m going to try to have all the chapters re-written by the end of this week (Nov. 18th) and then get a new chapter up hopefully sometime in the week after.

Stay tuned!


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